A Throne Unfilled?
by Maia of the Moon
Summary: What would have happened if Aslan hadn't given his life for Edmund? Would the Deep Magic have saved him too? Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Susan stared in shock. Aslan, the great lion, so faultless, had just given in to the White Witch. Now she simply sunk to the ground, sobbing. Peter's face showed inexplicable grief. Lucy stood for a second, then clung to Peter, too traumatized to say anything. Aslan himself hung his head so low it nearly touched the shining grass.

Edmund turned and took one last, drawn out look at his siblings. Then, movement unwavering, walked right up to the White Witch. But the most unexpected thing happened. All expected him to be weeping… but when Edmund Pevensie lifted his head, all to be seen was hatred and resolve. It was then that Susan realized he would not go down without a fight. And yet deep down, she felt that the prophecy was to be a false one. A throne in the castle of Cair Paravel would remain unfilled.


	2. Chapter 1

Ch.1

Peter snuck out of his tent to meet Lucy and Susan. All had agreed that, despite the Witch's proclaiming that Narnia would be destroyed if Edmund did not die, they had to do something. Their brother was perhaps minutes from being murdered in cold blood.

"We have to act quickly," Susan's voice cut through the crisp night air, "If we want to say one last goodbye."

"One last goodbye!?! We're rescuing him!" Peter exploded. He had counted on leaving Narnia with the same amount of siblings he had entered with. Mum had told him to protect his brother and sisters, and that was exactly what he was going to do!

Peter's right." Lucy sided with her brother. "We can't just let him die and say we didn't do anything to stop it."

Susan retorted, "We racked our brains for a way to help and now he have the opportunity to say goodbye. Is that not enough for you? If we go, all four of us will end up dead. I'm sure Aslan would prefer three Pevensies to none at all." By now all were in tears again.

"You can stay, Susan, and be dishonourable, but Lucy and I are going." With that, Peter stormed off into the woods. Lucy followed moments after, leaving Susan alone. She glanced up at the moon. _Oh, Edmund. If you can somehow hear my thoughts, please, know that I'm so sorry… _She wished there was something she could do to help.


	3. Chapter 2

Ch.2

Lucy weaved through the branches like a dryad. A minute ago she had scented a ghastly mix of burning wood, blood, and something comparable to wet dog. When she had turned to Peter, it was obvious he had smelled it too, for his face had been pale, and still was. She halted for a moment as they came into view of the Witch's camp, looking to Peter for guidance.

"It's empty! Come on, let's go!" All of a sudden, a shape larger than Lucy but slighter than Peter appeared and led the way into the camp. It was Susan. Apparently she had given up on sleep. Lucy turned and squinted into the trees on the other side of the camp. She made out the faint, ghostly glow of torches and took off in the direction.

"Lucy!" Peter and Susan shouted in unison and ran after her. They both knew she might not like what she saw.


	4. Chapter 3

Ch.3

Flames lit the night, obscuring the moon and stars. Peter gulped and dared himself to look up. He saw the glint of a dagger flashing down and knew nothing could be done. They were too late.

"EDMUND!" Lucy screamed. Then she took off, not caring whether the Witch had heard her or whether Peter and Susan would come after her.

"No. No! He can't be dead!" Susan's voice steadily elevated while Peter just stood. He was aware only that he was weeping and that Edmund had died. Everything was so… distant. The triumphant screeches of the Witch's army vanished. It was just him. Peter caught a sigh on the wind. _Farewell, my brother. _Then he crumpled to the ground and everything snapped back to reality.

"Why did nobody go instead? I would have given a thousand deaths for him!" He anguished. "Aslan told me that one morning we were together on the hillside that he would watch over Edmund, make sure nothing ill happened to him! And then, 'Oh, let's just give him back to the Witch after all we did to save him. Oh yes, I know his siblings will be scarred forever but who cares?' And I thought it was Edmund himself who had had betrayed Narnia!" Peter yelled through tears.

Susan put a hand on his shoulder and they locked eyes. "I'm just as heartbroken as you are. But try thinking of it this way. He died saving Narnia. It was the most honourable death he could have died." She said quietly.


	5. Chapter 4

Ch.4

Peter and Susan knew that they had to wait until the army was gone, agreeing that even if he was dead, Edmund deserved at least one last time with them. Soon after the army had gone to get ready for war, Lucy came back, saying she had taken shelter in the camp and when all the beasts began appearing she had slunk into the underbrush and ran back as swiftly as she could. So all three of them walked slowly up to where their brother lay, dead. Susan stopped a bit away from the Stone Table.

"I won't go any further. It seems… wrong, somehow. Something is happening." And as soon as she said that, Peter and Lucy realized they could sense it too, and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Magic is at work," Lucy whispered. "I can feel it." Peter and Susan turned to her, then to the Stone Table. _Strange; isn't it a bit early for the sun to be rising? It's only about four o'clock! _Susan reflected as the sky began to glow with an unearthly light.

"Lucy's right. That's not the sun." Peter seemed to read Susan's thoughts. "It's magic." As he said this Lucy began walking onward once more.

"Lucy, stop." Susan stepped in front of her. "Just a minute ago you said magic was at work."

Lucy replied, "It's good magic. We can-" Suddenly Peter broke in.

"We need to get ready for war! I know, it's our own brother we're talking about here, but there's no choice! Come on!" With that, he and Susan ran into the trees once more. But Lucy stayed. Susan stopped right before fading into the trees and silently nodded to her sister, who nodded back. A silent exchange was made. Lucy wanted to stay but Peter and Susan couldn't. She was much too young to fight anyways.


	6. Chapter 5

Ch.5

And so Lucy Pevensie turned back to the Stone Table and did what she had wanted to do once more ever since she had gotten back; she began crying. Not a loud, hiccupping cry like before, but a silent, grim-faced cry. Then she realized there was hope. Not much, but there was. She took out her Fireflower juice and ran up the steps of the Stone Table. They had been too far to see if Edmund was breathing, and when Lucy got closer she realized joyously that he still was. But when she healed him, he did not wake up. All wounds were healed and his breathing was even, yet Edmund did not wake up.

Lucy looked up to where the sky, still glimmering gold, was made even more magnificent by the rising sun. It was at that very moment that something more golden than all the others put together happened.

"Lucy?" She turned just in time to see Edmund open his eyes once more. "Oh, no!" He sat up immediately. "By the Lion, Lucy, please, tell me you're not dead too!" He shrieked. Lucy merely chuckled.

"No, I'm not dead. It's the other way around. You're alive." She said humbly. There was a second's silence between brother and sister; then both embraced.

"Why am I alive? I betrayed Narnia. I… I don't deserve to live." Edmund said quietly after they had let go of each other. But a deep, golden voice answered for Lucy.

"Because you knew what you had done wrong. And you were sorry for it. You gave up your life not because you betrayed Narnia, but because you were defending it. But you would still be dead if it were not for your sister Lucy. She healed the wound that might have killed you. But it was not because of the wound that you died. The stone dagger the Witch used has special powers. It does not kill you by pure force; it destroys your soul. Originally, if not for Lucy, your soul would have been reborn then died once more because even if you had been whole, the wound would eventually have caused you to die. But before your soul was healed, your body was. So when it returned, you lived fully again." Aslan explained. Both children ran to the lion and threw themselves at him. He accepted all of it until the two had cooled down.

"Now, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, climb onto my back. Your brother and sister are locked in battle as we speak. They could very well use assistance!" And with that, Aslan, the great lion, gave a fearless roar and took off across Narnia.


	7. Chapter 6

Ch.7

"For Narnia!" Lucy and Edmund shouted and together leapt into the fray. Lucy swept in and out of the unknowing battlers, stabbing the ones she knew were not fighting for Aslan. She wasn't noticed until it was too late. Edmund, on the other hand, was noticed by everything and everyone that wasn't dead or dying. Most wore shocked expressions.

"You're supposed to be dead!" One arrogant Minotaur shouted.

"Kings never die!" Tumnus the faun, now holding a sword, slashed it down. Then, as quickly as it had paused, the battle began once more. But the tides were shifting, for Aslan had brought another army's worth of Narnians from the Witch's castle. All were no longer stone and all were definitely furious. But, most of all, they were ready for battle.

"Miss me?" Edmund stopped by a shocked Susan. Then, "You wait here. I have some business to take care of." With that, he took off again.

"Hallo!" Lucy stabbed yet another Minotaur, then turned. "Oh, great… Edmund, don't try it!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Why? Edmund was approaching the White Witch.

"Surprised?" Edmund stopped a yard's length from the Witch. "You probably thought I was dead."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to kill you again!" And with that, a fuming White Witch stabbed out at Edmund. He leapt back and executed the same maneuver. But unlike his enemy, Edmund succeeded in hitting his target. And he hit hard. And it was at that moment that everything, the whole reason that the four Pevensies were called to Narnia in the first place, ended.

"You know, that wasn't terribly hard. I expected-" Edmund never got to finish his sentence, for as soon as her feet could carry her to him, Lucy was hugging Edmund again. Susan was, predictably, next. Then she looked worriedly to where Peter was still lying on the ground.

"Did… she… die?" A weak but still living Peter tied to look up as he heard footsteps.

"Yes. I killed her." Edmund put a hand on Peter's shoulder as Peter gained the strength to open his eyes, which immediately widened in surprise.

"If this is a… joke, it's not …funny. If I'm… hallucinating, heal me." He told Lucy. She opened her mouth to respond, but Edmund proved his existence for her by, with some inhuman strength, pulling Peter to his feet. The brothers stood together, not saying anything. Then Lucy pounced on the two and hugged them firmly. Susan was next. _I was wrong. _She told herself blissfully. _All four thrones will be filled. _


End file.
